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Social Psychology
Table of Contents
Unit 6 Overview: Attitudes and Attitude Change
6.1 Attitude Formation and Structure
6.2 Attitude Measurement and Behavior Prediction
6.3 Persuasion and Attitude Change Theories
6.4 Cognitive Dissonance and Attitude Change

🎠social psychology review

6.2 Attitude Measurement and Behavior Prediction

Citation:

Measuring attitudes isn't as simple as asking people what they think. Researchers use various techniques, from self-report scales to implicit tests and behavior observations, to get a complete picture of how people feel about things.

The link between attitudes and behavior is complex. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how attitudes, social norms, and perceived control influence our actions. But other factors, like attitude strength and situational constraints, also play a role in determining whether we act on our beliefs.

Attitude Measurement Techniques

Self-Report Scales

  • Likert scale measures attitudes by asking respondents to rate their agreement with statements
    • Uses a 5 or 7-point scale ranging from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree"
    • Allows for nuanced responses and easy quantification of attitudes
    • Commonly used in surveys and questionnaires (customer satisfaction surveys)
  • Semantic differential scale assesses attitudes using bipolar adjective pairs
    • Respondents rate a concept on a scale between two opposing adjectives (Good-Bad, Strong-Weak)
    • Captures both direction and intensity of attitudes
    • Useful for measuring multidimensional attitudes (brand perceptions)
  • Self-report measures provide direct insight into conscious attitudes
    • Rely on respondents' willingness and ability to accurately report their attitudes
    • Can be influenced by social desirability bias and demand characteristics
    • Offer cost-effective and efficient data collection for large samples

Implicit and Physiological Measures

  • Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures unconscious attitudes and biases
    • Assesses reaction times when categorizing stimuli related to attitude objects
    • Reveals automatic associations that may differ from explicitly stated attitudes
    • Used to study prejudice, stereotypes, and implicit biases (racial attitudes)
  • Physiological measures capture bodily responses to attitude objects
    • Include heart rate, skin conductance, and facial electromyography
    • Provide objective indicators of emotional reactions to stimuli
    • Less susceptible to conscious control or social desirability bias
    • Used in advertising research to gauge emotional responses to products or messages

Behavioral Observation Techniques

  • Behavior observation involves systematically recording and analyzing visible actions
    • Includes naturalistic observation and controlled experiments
    • Provides insight into how attitudes manifest in real-world behaviors
    • Can reveal discrepancies between stated attitudes and actual behaviors
  • Unobtrusive measures assess attitudes without subjects' awareness
    • Include analysis of archival data, physical traces, or public behaviors
    • Reduce reactivity and social desirability effects
    • Used to study sensitive topics or verify self-reported attitudes (voting behavior)
  • Behavioral measures offer ecological validity but can be time-consuming and resource-intensive
    • Require careful operationalization of behaviors related to attitudes
    • May need multiple observations to ensure reliability
    • Useful for longitudinal studies of attitude change and behavior consistency

Attitude-Behavior Relationship

Theory of Planned Behavior

  • Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) explains the link between attitudes and behavior
    • Developed by Icek Ajzen as an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action
    • Posits that behavioral intentions predict actual behavior
  • TPB identifies three key factors influencing behavioral intentions
    • Attitudes toward the behavior reflect overall evaluation of performing the action
    • Subjective norms represent perceived social pressure to perform or not perform the behavior
    • Perceived behavioral control indicates the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior
  • Model accounts for both internal and external factors affecting behavior
    • Recognizes that intentions alone may not always lead to action
    • Incorporates the role of actual control over behavior (resources, opportunities)
  • TPB has been applied to various domains (health behaviors, consumer choices)
    • Used to design interventions targeting specific components of the model
    • Helps predict and explain complex behaviors involving multiple factors

Attitude-Behavior Consistency

  • Attitude-behavior consistency refers to the degree of alignment between attitudes and actions
    • Strong consistency indicates attitudes reliably predict behavior
    • Weak consistency suggests a disconnect between what people say and what they do
  • Factors influencing attitude-behavior consistency include:
    • Attitude strength affects the likelihood of attitudes guiding behavior
      • Strong attitudes based on direct experience or extensive knowledge show higher consistency
    • Attitude accessibility determines how quickly attitudes come to mind
      • Highly accessible attitudes exert more influence on spontaneous behaviors
    • Situational constraints can override attitudes in guiding behavior
      • Social pressure or practical limitations may lead to inconsistent actions
  • Measuring attitude-behavior consistency involves:
    • Assessing attitudes and observing related behaviors over time
    • Calculating correlations between attitude measures and behavioral indicators
    • Identifying discrepancies and exploring reasons for inconsistencies

Moderating Factors in Attitude-Behavior Relationships

  • Individual differences moderate the strength of attitude-behavior links
    • Self-monitoring tendency influences reliance on internal attitudes vs. external cues
      • High self-monitors show less consistency between private attitudes and public behaviors
    • Need for cognition affects the depth of attitude processing and stability
      • Individuals high in need for cognition form more enduring, behavior-guiding attitudes
  • Contextual factors impact the expression of attitudes in behavior
    • Time pressure can reduce attitude-behavior consistency
      • Rushed decisions rely more on heuristics than carefully considered attitudes
    • Mood states influence the retrieval and application of attitudes
      • Positive moods generally increase reliance on existing attitudes
  • Attitude properties affect their predictive power for behavior
    • Attitude certainty strengthens the attitude-behavior relationship
      • Confident attitudes are more likely to guide actions across situations
    • Attitude ambivalence weakens the link between attitudes and behavior
      • Mixed or conflicting evaluations lead to less consistent behavioral patterns
  • Understanding moderating factors helps explain variability in attitude-behavior consistency
    • Informs strategies for attitude change and behavior prediction
    • Highlights the complexity of human decision-making and action

Key Terms to Review (22)

Self-Monitoring: Self-monitoring is the process of observing and regulating one's own behaviors and expressions in social situations to create desired impressions on others. This concept involves being aware of how one is perceived by others and adjusting one’s actions accordingly, which connects deeply with self-presentation strategies and the ways attitudes influence behavior. Self-monitors may vary in their levels of this trait, impacting their social interactions and the authenticity of their behaviors.
Richard Petty: Richard Petty is a prominent figure in social psychology, particularly known for his work on attitudes and persuasion. His research has significantly contributed to understanding how attitudes are formed, measured, and how they predict behavior, especially through the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), which explains the different routes of persuasion that affect attitude change.
Unobtrusive Measures: Unobtrusive measures are research methods used to collect data without influencing or altering the behavior of the subjects being observed. These techniques allow researchers to gather information in a way that minimizes the participants' awareness of being studied, thus ensuring more natural responses. They are particularly valuable in attitude measurement and behavior prediction as they can provide insights into real-life behaviors without the bias that may arise from direct questioning.
Factor Analysis: Factor analysis is a statistical method used to identify underlying relationships between variables by grouping them into factors or components. This technique helps in reducing data complexity, allowing researchers to uncover latent constructs that influence observable behaviors, particularly in the study of attitudes and their predictive power regarding behavior.
Political polling: Political polling is the process of surveying a sample of individuals to gauge public opinion on various political issues, candidates, or elections. These surveys are vital for understanding how attitudes and preferences are formed and how they may influence behavior during elections. Polling helps predict electoral outcomes and provides insight into the public's sentiments regarding policy issues.
Regression analysis: Regression analysis is a statistical method used to examine the relationship between one dependent variable and one or more independent variables. It helps in predicting the outcome of the dependent variable based on the values of the independent variables, making it a powerful tool for understanding how various factors influence behaviors and attitudes.
Behavior observation: Behavior observation refers to the systematic process of watching and recording an individual's actions or behaviors in order to understand and analyze their attitudes, motivations, and social interactions. This method is crucial for assessing how behaviors relate to underlying attitudes, thus providing insights into predicting future actions based on observed patterns.
Market Research: Market research is the process of gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information about a market, including information about the target audience, competitors, and the overall industry landscape. This practice helps organizations understand consumer preferences and behaviors, which can be pivotal in shaping products, services, and marketing strategies to influence attitudes and predict future behaviors.
Social context: Social context refers to the environment or situation in which individuals interact, including the cultural, social, historical, and interpersonal factors that influence behavior and attitudes. It plays a crucial role in shaping how attitudes are measured and how they predict behavior, as well as affecting conformity and obedience within groups.
Need for cognition: Need for cognition refers to an individual's tendency to engage in and enjoy thinking, particularly when it comes to processing complex information. This trait influences how people form and change their attitudes, as those with a high need for cognition are more likely to analyze information deeply and reflect on their beliefs, leading to more consistent attitudes and behaviors.
Implicit Association Test: The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a psychological assessment that measures the strength of automatic associations between concepts in memory, often related to social attitudes and biases. This tool helps uncover hidden biases that individuals may not be consciously aware of, making it valuable in understanding how attitudes can predict behaviors and shape stereotypes. By revealing these implicit associations, the IAT plays a crucial role in discussions about prejudice, discrimination, and the formation of social perceptions.
Attitude accessibility: Attitude accessibility refers to the ease with which an attitude can be retrieved from memory and influences how quickly individuals can express their feelings or opinions about an object, person, or issue. The more accessible an attitude is, the more likely it is to influence behavior, decision-making, and the overall processing of related information. This concept is essential in understanding how attitudes are formed, structured, measured, and how they can predict behavior in various situations.
Attitude Strength: Attitude strength refers to the durability and impact of an attitude on an individual's behavior and decision-making. Strong attitudes are typically more stable over time and resistant to change, influencing how individuals think, feel, and act in various situations. The significance of attitude strength lies in its ability to predict behavior and its role in resisting persuasion, highlighting how deeply held beliefs can shape responses in different contexts.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Cognitive dissonance theory suggests that individuals experience psychological discomfort when they hold two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. This discomfort often leads to a motivation to reduce the dissonance by changing one's beliefs or behaviors, which is crucial in understanding social influence, attitude formation, and the process of persuasion.
Behavioral Intention: Behavioral intention refers to an individual's perceived likelihood or willingness to engage in a specific behavior in the future. It acts as a bridge between attitudes and actual behaviors, suggesting that if someone has a strong intention to act, they are more likely to follow through with that action. This concept is critical in understanding how attitudes influence behavior and is often assessed through various measurement techniques in research.
Semantic differential: A semantic differential is a scale used to measure the connotative meaning of concepts by asking respondents to rate them on a series of bipolar adjectives. This method reveals how people perceive an object, idea, or issue along various dimensions, such as evaluation (good-bad), potency (strong-weak), and activity (active-passive). The results help in understanding the complexity of attitudes and how they are structured, as well as predicting behavior based on those attitudes.
Likert scale: A Likert scale is a psychometric scale commonly used in surveys to measure attitudes or opinions. It typically consists of a series of statements that respondents evaluate on a fixed scale, usually ranging from 'strongly agree' to 'strongly disagree'. This type of measurement helps researchers quantify subjective feelings, making it easier to analyze and interpret data related to attitudes and beliefs.
Theory of planned behavior: The theory of planned behavior is a psychological framework that predicts individual behavior based on their intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. It emphasizes that behavior is not just influenced by attitudes towards the behavior itself but also by social pressures and the individual's perception of their ability to perform the behavior. This comprehensive approach helps in understanding how attitudes are formed and structured, as well as how they can be measured to predict actual behaviors.
Implicit attitudes: Implicit attitudes are evaluations or feelings about a person, object, or concept that occur automatically and unconsciously, often without our awareness. These attitudes can influence our behaviors and decisions without us even realizing it, operating in contrast to explicit attitudes, which we can consciously endorse. Implicit attitudes play a crucial role in shaping social perceptions and interactions, making them essential to understanding how we form and structure our beliefs and how they are measured and predicted in behavior.
Explicit attitudes: Explicit attitudes are conscious beliefs and evaluations that individuals openly express and can easily articulate. These attitudes are formed through direct experiences, social learning, and are influenced by personal values and societal norms. They play a significant role in how individuals respond to different situations and can be measured through self-report surveys and questionnaires.
Leon Festinger: Leon Festinger was a prominent social psychologist known for developing the theory of cognitive dissonance, which explains how individuals strive for internal consistency between their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. His work laid the foundation for understanding attitude formation, change, and the mechanisms that drive persuasion and resistance to it.
Situational Factors: Situational factors are external influences that affect an individual's behavior in a given context, often shaping how people respond to various social situations. These factors can include the presence of others, social norms, physical environment, and specific circumstances that can alter perception and action. Understanding situational factors helps explain why individuals might behave differently in varying contexts, emphasizing the importance of context over personal traits.